Tokyo Japan

Sightseeing

Julia in the Maid Cafe with the maid just out of shot.
They would not let us take a picture so we tried to sneaked one.

We left Nikko this morning for Tokyo. It was only about 3 hours away and two
trains so it was relatively easy to get there. Tokyo is a really large city
with a population of 30 million people.

The first place we had to visit after we checked into our
hotel was the area known as Electric Town. This is where you can buy all
sorts of electronic gizmos and gadgets. After a visit to the Laox store we
had to look in on one of Tokyo's
Maid Cafes.
These are cafes that have Japanese girls serving in them that dress like
French Maids and other guises. They
are supposed to act out in a subservient manner to guests which are
typically young male geeks.

After this we went to the Ginza district which is the
up market high-end shopping district. Ginza at night.

Julia, Andy, and I were not the typical
clientele so we got a strange performance from them, but it was interesting.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Tuna before it was cut up for our breakfast. In the
words of that famous song: I think I am turning Japanese; I really think so.

Got up very early this morning and took the subway to the
Tokyo Fish Market. This is the market that supplies most of the fish in
Tokyo; and believe me that is a lot of fish. The place was a madhouse of
activity with people processing and packaging fish and others buying and
selling fish. We saw all kinds
of critters some we knew and might have even eat once; others we had no idea
about and really did not want to know.

Andy and Julia enjoying our walk.

Once we had made our rounds of the market we took part in
a Tokyo ritual of eating a sushi and sashimi breakfast at one of the many
hole-in-the-wall restaurants at the market. It
was still very early morning and I must admit it took some warming up to the
idea of eating raw fish at this time of the day, but it was so fresh and so
good it did not take too long before we were gulping it all down; even Andy.

After this it was back on the subway and the Ginza where
we tried to get into the Sony building to look at the latest electronic
gizmos but itwas still too early in the morning and not open yet. We then
walked to the Emperor's Palace Gardens which
was about a 30 minute walk away in the sunny but just above freezing day.
What a beautiful walk this was.

The winter gardens inside the Palace.

Suddenly the hustle and bustle of
Tokyo fell away and was replaced by the peace, quite, and beauty of
the Emperor's Palace Gardens.

We saw some wonderful birds in the Palace mote as we
walked to the East Gate. Once there we were able to enter the only part of
the Palace open to the public. What
a grand old stone wall that surrounds these fantastic gardens; even in
winter they are filled with beauty.

After this we walked back to the Sony Building where we
were able to finally see the magic of new electronics. We took a break from
sightseeing and went to a movie (Sweeney Todd) which, was in English I am
happy to say. It was a long day and we were all very tired but satisfied we
had done as much as we could do this day. Andy returns home to Australia
tomorrow. Julia and I continue on to Hakone leaving Tokyo behind us for the
wonders of Mt. Fuji and beyond.